The opener of the Eastern Conference Finals held up well for ABC on Sunday.
The Celtics’ Game 1 win over the Magic drew a 5.5 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, down 2% from Rockets/Lakers Game 7 last year (5.6), down 20% from Cavaliers/Celtics Game 7 in ’08 (6.9), but up 45% from Spurs/Jazz Game 1 in ’07 (3.8).
Overnight ratings for last year’s Magic/Cavaliers Game 1, which aired in primetime on TNT, were not immediately available.
Celtics/Magic drew the fourth-highest overnight of the eight Conference Final games on ABC since ’02, behind Lakers/Nuggets Game 3 last year (6.6), Pistons/Heat Game 4 in ’06 (6.4) and Suns/Spurs Game 4 in ’05 (6.0) — all of which aired in primetime.
Additionally, the 5.5 is the highest of the playoffs for an NBA game on ABC, topping the previous week’s Cavaliers/Celtics Game 4 (5.1)
